Opinion of the European Central Bank of 12 June 2013 on the treatment of euro banknotes neutralised by anti-theft devices (CON/2013/43)
Date: 2013-06-12
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Belgium, counterfeiting, euro, fight against crime, money, national law

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 12 June 2013 

on the treatment of euro banknotes neutralised by anti-theft devices 

(CON/2013/43) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  24  May  2013,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  Nationale  Bank  van 

België/Banque Nationale de Belgique (NBB), acting on behalf of the Belgian Ministry for Home Affairs, 

for an  opinion  on  five  amendments  (hereinafter  the  ‘amendments’)  to  a  draft law  on  protection  against 

counterfeiting and the preservation of the quality of cash in circulation (hereinafter the ‘draft law’).  

The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 

Functioning  of  the  European  Union  and  the  first,  second  and  third  indents  of  Article  2(1)  of  Council 

Decision  98/415/EC  of  29  June  1998  on  the  consultation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  by  national 
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions1, since the draft amendments concern currency matters, 

means  of  payment  and  the  NBB.  In  accordance  with  the  first  sentence  of  Article 17.5  of  the  Rules  of 

Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 

1.  

Purpose of the amendments 

The  amendments  aim  to  enhance  public  security  by  reducing  the  possibility  for  thieves  to  recycle  or 

obtain reimbursement for genuine euro banknotes that have been neutralised following the activation of 
an  anti-theft  device2.  To  this  end,  the  amendments  introduce  the  concept  of  ‘presumably  neutralised 

banknotes’,  i.e.  euro  banknotes  for  which  there  are  sufficient  reasons  to  believe  that  they  have  been 
neutralised by certain types of ink stains resulting from the activation of an anti-theft device3, and apply 

to such euro banknotes a treatment which is similar to that applied to counterfeits.  

First,  certain  institutions  (hereinafter  ‘professional  cash  handlers’4)  will  be  required  to  withdraw  from 

circulation all presumably neutralised banknotes that come into their possession, and to hand them over to 

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OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
Explanatory memorandum, justification concerning Amendment No 2. 
Amendment No 1 (proposed new Article 3(3) of the draft law).  
The  amendments  and  the  draft  law  apply  to  all  institutions  falling  within  the  scope  of:  (a)  Article  6  of  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 of 28 June 2001 laying down measures necessary for the protection of the euro against 
counterfeiting  (OJ  L  181,  4.7.2001,  p.  6);  (b)  Decision  ECB/2010/14  of  16 September  2010  on  the  authenticity  and 
fitness  of  checking  and  recirculation  of  euro  banknotes  (OJ  L  267,  9.10.2010,  p.  1);  and  (c)  Regulation  (EU) 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
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the  NBB  without  undue  delay5.  In  addition,  when  presumably  neutralised  banknotes  are  found  in  a 

banknote  handling  machine  or  are  discovered  by  a  professional  cash  handler  during  a  transaction,  the 

professional cash handlers will be required to ensure that they are neither reimbursed nor credited to the 

account  of  the  person  presenting  them  and  that  the  depositor  or  the  account  owner  is  identified.  These 

obligations  will  apply  in  the  case  of  over-the-counter  transactions  and  also  upon  presentation  of 
presumably  neutralised  banknotes  to  banknote  handling  machines6.  The  presumably  neutralised 

banknotes handed over to the NBB will only be reimbursed in accordance with Decision ECB/2013/10 of 

19  April  2013  on  the  denominations,  specifications,  reproduction,  exchange  and  withdrawal  of  euro 
banknotes7.  

The monitoring measures that the NBB can take, and the administrative fines and corrective measures it 

can impose on professional cash handlers with respect to their obligations regarding counterfeits, will also 
apply with respect to presumably neutralised banknotes8. 

2.   Appropriate time to consult the ECB  

The amendments concern the draft law, on which the Belgian Ministry of Finance consulted the ECB in 
the past9. The draft law has recently been tabled before the Belgian Parliament and the amendments were 

introduced by members of Parliament on 22 May 2013. The ECB was requested to deliver an opinion on 

the amendments as a matter of extreme urgency, if possible within two weeks, because of the imminent 

vote in the Parliament.  

According to Article 4 of Decision 98/415/EC, the ECB must be consulted at an appropriate stage in the 

legislative process. This implies that the consultation should take place at a point in the legislative process 

that allows the ECB sufficient time to examine the draft legislative provisions and to adopt its opinion, 

and the national authorities the possibility to take into account the ECB’s views. The ECB stresses that 

even  cases  of  particular  and  duly  justified  urgency  do  not  relieve  national  authorities  of  their  duty  to 

consult at an appropriate stage in the legislative process and to allow sufficient time  for its views to be 

taken into account in accordance with Decision 98/415/EC.   

3.  General observation 

The  ECB  understands  that  the  amendments  aim  at  enhancing  public  security  by  reducing  the  risk  of 

criminals  being  able  to  put  into  circulation  neutralised  euro  banknotes,  i.e.  euro  banknotes  which  have 

No 1210/2010 of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 December 2010 concerning authentication of euro coins 
and handling of euro coins unfit for circulation (OJ L 339, 22.12.2010, p. 1). 
Amendment No 2 (proposed new Article 4bis of the draft law).  
Explanatory memorandum, justification concerning Amendment No 2. 
Amendment No 2 (proposed new Article 4bis of the draft law).  
Amendments Nos 3, 4 and 5, introducing a reference to the proposed new Article 4bis in Articles 5, 8 and 9 of the draft 
law. The consulting authority clarified that a similar reference will also be introduced in Article 6 of the draft law. 
See Opinion CON/2011/64. All ECB opinions are published on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 

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certain specific types of ink stains resulting from the activation of an anti-theft device. To this end, they 

introduce  in  the  draft  law  an  Article  4bis,  the  second  paragraph  of  which  prohibits  cash  handlers  from 

reimbursing  neutralised  euro  banknotes  or  crediting  an  account  with  such  euro  banknotes,  both  in  the 

context of cash payment transactions and deposits with banknote handling machines.    

4.   Transactions settlement in neutralised euro banknotes 

4.1  The  ECB  takes  into  account  that  stakeholders  (banks,  retailers,  cash  in  transit  companies,  the 

general public) are actively encouraged to remove neutralised euro banknotes from circulation and 

return  them  to  the  national  central  banks  as  it  is  very  likely  that  such  euro  banknotes  are  the 
proceeds of a theft10. 

4.2  Nevertheless, the ECB notes that neutralised euro banknotes retain their legal tender status and that 
this has been acknowledged by the European Commission11. In this respect, the requirements and 

prohibitions introduced in the draft law by the amendments would affect the legal tender status of 

presumably neutralised banknotes. In addition, they would effectively introduce limitations on cash 

payments in relation to the settlement of cash transactions where such euro banknotes are used in 

good faith to this end. 

4.3  Recital 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of 3 May 1998 on the introduction of the euro12 

states  that  limitations  on  payments  in  notes  and  coins,  established  by  Member  States  for  public 

reasons, are not incompatible with the status of legal tender of euro banknotes and coins, provided 

that other lawful means for the settlement of monetary debts are available. The ECB acknowledges 

that: (a) such other lawful means for the settlement of monetary debts, other than neutralised euro 

banknotes, are available in Belgium; and (b) the draft law’s objective of enhancing public security 

by reducing the risk of criminals’ being able to put into circulation neutralised euro banknotes in 

relation to a crime qualifies as a public reason outweighing the impact of the limitations on cash 

payments. 

4.4  However,  limitations  on  cash  payments  should  be  proportionate  to  the  general  objective  of 

reducing  the  risk  of  criminals  being  able  to  put  into  circulation  neutralised  euro  banknotes  and 

should not go beyond what is necessary to achieve this objective. Any limitations as a result of the 

amendments should be carefully weighed against the public benefits expected to be derived from 

them. 

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12 

See paragraph 5 of the Commission Recommendation of 22 March 2010 on the scope and effects of legal tender of euro 
banknotes  and  coins  (OJ  L  83,  30.3.2010,  p.  70),  and  Article 10  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  1214/2011  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  November  2011  on  the  professional  cross-border  transport  of  euro  cash  by  road 
between euro area Member States (OJ L 316, 29.11.2011, p. 1). 
See Opinion CON/2010/72 and paragraph 5 of the above-mentioned Commission Recommendation. 
OJ L 139, 11.5.1998, p. 1.  

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5. 

Detection by customer-operated machines of presumably neutralised banknotes 

The ECB welcomes the amendments, which further develop the  existing ECB rules on the treatment of 

neutralised  euro  banknotes  by  customer-operated  machines  in  the  context  of  criminal  activity.  In  this 

respect,  the  ECB  considers  it  necessary  that  these  amendments  are  complemented  by  technical  rules 

setting  out  details  and  criteria  defining  how  euro  banknotes  neutralised  by  anti-theft  devices  will  be 

treated 

in  a  manner  similar 

to 

the  regime  for  suspect  counterfeit  euro  banknotes  under 

Decision ECB/2010/14.  In  particular,  such  technical  rules  should  establish  details,  in  line  with  the 

existing ECB rules in this respect, about the minimum stained area, the contrast, and the specific spectral 

signature of the stains, for euro banknotes to be considered as presumably neutralised banknotes, and the 

success  rate  expected  from  the  customer-operated  machines  regarding  the  correct  identification  and 

separation of such presumably neutralised banknotes. 

6. 

A new NBB task 

The NBB is entrusted with the task of monitoring professional cash handlers’ compliance with the new 

obligations.  The  ECB  has  consistently  expressed  its  concern  that,  when  allocating  additional  tasks  to 

national central banks, it must be ensured that they have sufficient human and financial resources, both in 

terms  of  quantity  and  quality,  for  all  their  tasks,  and  in  particular  that  their  capacity  to  perform  their 
European System of Central Banks or Eurosystem-related tasks is not affected13. 

This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 12 June 2013. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

13 

See for instance Opinion CON/2012/15. 

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